Canceled
by MariaClaire
Summary: An unexpected phone call changes Percy's Thanksgiving plans.


***** For some reason a lot of my titles are starting with the letter C lately, no idea why. This is just a quick little Thanksgiving-related one-shot. Takes place during Percy and Annabeth's senior year, after the war with Gaea.*****

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"See you on Sunday." Percy kissed Annabeth. "Just let me know what time your flight is supposed to get in and I'll come pick you up."

"Thanks, babe." She grinned at the probably pleased face he made when she called him that. "I think it'll be about three-thirty, but I'll let you know. Have a happy Thanksgiving."

"You too. Tell your dad and everybody I say hi. You going to try to see Hazel or anybody while you're out there?"

"Maybe. That would be a better way to spend Black Friday than at the shopping center with my stepmom anyway." Annabeth wrinkled her nose, then stepped forward to hug Percy again, letting her head rest on his chest. "Love you."

"Love you too." He kind of wished his girlfriend was staying in New York for Thanksgiving so they could spend it together, but her dad really wanted her to come to California, and Percy didn't want to leave his mom and Paul alone, especially after he'd been gone most of the year. But it was fine. Still, he didn't let her go right away.

Finally, Annabeth said, "I really have to go so I can get through security." She tilted her head up to kiss him again, then gently disentangled herself from his arms and stepped back. "Stay safe. Eat lots of food."

"Oh I will." Percy squeezed her waist, then let her go. "That's my talent."

Annabeth laughed. "True." She kissed his cheek, then grabbed her backpack, which had been sitting on the ground at her feet. "See you on Sunday."

Percy waited until she vanished into the crowds at the security gates, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back out to the parking garage.

That was at 2 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Percy drove back to Manhattan through the teeming mass of traffic, then around his block five or six times, cursing more steadily, until he finally found a parking spot. Then he headed up to his apartment.

When he opened the door, the smell of pumpkin pie wafted over him. He wandered into the kitchen, where his mom had about six different things going on at once. She always liked to prep as much as possible the day before so all she had to do on Thursday morning was mix up a couple last things, put them in the oven, and mash the potatoes (which were always blue). She looked up and smiled when he walked in. "Hi, honey. Everything okay?"

Percy nodded and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "Traffic was crazy, but we got to the airport with no problem. Annabeth's flight should be leaving in about," he craned his neck to check the clock over the stone, "half an hour. Where's Paul?"

"He ran to the store to pick up a couple things." His mom slid the celery she was chopping into a mixing bowl. "What are you doing today?"

Percy shrugged. "No plans now. Do you need any help?"

His mom glanced around the over-loaded countertops, then shook her head. "I've got it under control for now. Might need your help on dishes later, though."

"I can do that." Percy hesitated, then gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek. When she looked up, surprised, he just said, "I'm glad to be home."

A slow smile spread across her face. "I'm happy you're home, too, Percy."

Percy spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and playing video games. There was probably homework he could be doing, but it was Thanksgiving break. If there was any day he could just sit around playing video games, like he rarely got to do, it was the night before Thanksgiving. They ordered Chinese takeout for dinner, and afterwards, Percy went into battle with his mom against the mountain of dishes from her marathon Thanksgiving prep. Then he went back to playing video games.

About 10 p.m., around the time his mom and Paul went to bed, Percy started glancing at the clock. Annabeth unfortunately had an almost two hour layover in Minneapolis, so she wasn't supposed to arrive in San Francisco until nearly eleven his time. But she'd said she would text him when she landed in California. He was surprised she hadn't called or something during her layover, but that wasn't totally unusual. When his mom's cell phone, which she'd left out in the living room with him, rang at a little after eleven and he saw it was Annabeth calling, he picked it up, tucking it against his ear so he could keep both hands on his game controller, and said, "Hey, how's California?"

"I don't know." Her voice sounded thick and he heard something that sounded suspiciously like sniffling. "I'm still at LaGuardia."

"What?" Percy sat bolt upright, dropping his controller and grasping the phone. "You've been there _all day_?"

"Yes. My flight was delayed and delayed and delayed again and now it's been canceled." More sniffling, then, in a small voice, she asked, "Will you come get me?"

"Of course!" Percy scrambled up from the couch, heading to his room. "I can be there in an hour, maybe less if the traffic isn't bad. I'll call you when I get close, okay? Unless you want me to stay on the phone now?"

"No, it's fine." Her voice was shaky. "Drive safe. I'll see you when you get here."

Percy threw on a sweatshirt and put on his sneakers, then knocked gently on his parents' door. He could tell there was still a light on, so he wasn't surprised when his mom called, "Come in."

When he opened the door, she was sitting at her desk, laptop open. She must have been working on her new novel. Paul was sitting up in bed reading a book. They both looked a little surprised to see him dressed to go out. Paul asked, "What's going on, Percy?"

"Can I borrow the Prius again?" Percy asked. When his mom and Paul exchanged a look, he explained, "Annabeth just called me. She's been stuck at LaGuardia all day because her flight got delayed, and now it's canceled, so she's just sitting at the airport, and I said I'd go get her."

"Oh that poor baby," his mom said. "Of course you can go get her, honey. Do you want someone to ride along?"

"Nah, I'm okay," Percy said. "But thanks."

"Keys are on the counter," Paul said. "Just drive safe. No pegasi trampling anything if you can help it."

Percy grinned at the usual joke. "Thanks. I'll be back in a couple hours."

The traffic wasn't horrible, so Percy made decent time, but there was construction around the airport, which meant he was stuck in a line of cars barely creeping forward. Percy tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, muttering, "Come on, come on."

When he finally reached the terminal, he called Annabeth again and she gave him her location. Even at nearly midnight, the arrivals area was hectic with rideshare vehicles, public shuttles, hotel vans, and people picking up their loved ones. Finally, Percy spotted Annabeth near a numbered pillar and cut in front of a hotel shuttle to pull into a sort-of parking spot near her. He started to unbuckle his seatbelt, but before he could, Annabeth opened the passenger door, leaned in to toss her bag onto the back seat, then dropped into the passenger seat and slammed the door. She took one look at him and burst into tears.

"Annabeth!" Percy reached over to try and give her a hug, but his seatbelt yanked him back. Growling in frustration, he tried to unbuckle it again, but before he could, a transportation attendant knocked on the window.

"Pick up only!" the guy called, gesturing for Percy to move out.

"It's fine," Annabeth choked. "Just go."

"Fine," Percy muttered, waving to the guy to let him know he got the message before carefully merging back into the chaos. Beside him, Annabeth was taking deep, shuddering breaths, trying to calm down. As soon as he felt like it was safe, Percy reached over to take her hand and she squeezed his, hard. "So what happened?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Bad weather in Minneapolis, apparently. They kept pushing the flight back, but only like an hour at a time, until about ten-thirty, when they finally said it was canceled. I called my dad and told him—told him I wouldn't be making it out there. He said he understood. He wants me to come out for Christmas instead, for a few days."

"That'll be nice," Percy said. "So they didn't offer to reschedule you or anything?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I think they were trying to rebook people, but nothing that would get me out there before tomorrow evening, maybe even Friday morning, and then what's the point? And I just didn't feel like spending any more time in the airport and…I don't know." She took another deep breath, then heaved a sigh. "I guess I could still be out there Friday and Saturday, but right now, I'm just exhausted. So I told them to just give me credit for the stupid flight and I'll use it at Christmas."

"For what it's worth," Percy said, raising the back of her hand to his lips briefly, "I'm glad you're here."

Annabeth gave him a watery smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Although I'm sorry you were stuck in the airport all day."

"Ugh, me too." Annabeth leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. "It was awful. I wish they'd just told us right away it would be canceled and I could have left. But I kept waiting. I got a snack about five, but I wasn't really hungry, and I figured I'd eat when I got to my dad's because my stepmom usually leaves me a plate. So by the time they finally announced it was canceled, I was tired and angry and hungry, which is just a bad combination."

"Definitely," Percy agreed. "We can stop somewhere if you want something, or there's plenty of Chinese food leftovers in the fridge at home."

"That sounds perfect." Annabeth opened her eyes to look over at him. "Thanks for coming to get me, Percy."

"Anytime, Wise Girl."

His mom met them at the door when they got back. As soon as they walked in, she wrapped Annabeth in a hug. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Better now," Annabeth admitted. "Thanks for letting me stay, Sally."

"You know you're always welcome." Sally stepped back, holding Annabeth at arm's length. "Will you be here tomorrow for dinner?"

Annabeth nodded, then said, hesitantly, "Actually, would it be—I mean, is it a problem if I stay for the weekend? If it is, I could go to my dorm, but I'm not sure when I can get in—"

"You can stay as long as you need to, honey," his mom interrupted her. "I already put clean sheets on Percy's bed, and there are towels for you in there, too. And, Percy, I made up a bed on the couch for you. I didn't think you'd mind, since you said your plan for the weekend was to stay up late playing video games anyway, right?"

"That is totally my plan," Percy said. "And yeah, that's not a problem."

"Sorry to kick you out of your room, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, asking him a quick, silent question, which he answered with a smile.

"No problem. I'd much rather have you here for Thanksgiving."

The smile she gave him made him feel warm all over.

Sally told them both good night, then went back to bed. It was nearly one o'clock in the morning, but Percy still felt pretty awake. So he sat down on his new couch/bed and went back to his game. Annabeth sat beside him while she ate some reheated Chinese food, then said she was going to jump in the shower and "wash away the airport."

Percy was starting to feel the tiniest bit drowsy twenty minutes later when Annabeth came back out, now wearing pajama pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt.

"Feeling better?" he asked as she sat down beside him.

"So much better." She rested her head on his shoulder. Her hair was damp and he could smell her shampoo. "This was a long day. But I've had worse."

Percy chuckled half-heartedly. "That's the sad truth."

Annabeth seemed content just to lean against him while he finished his game. When he was done, Percy set his controller down on the coffee table, then sank back against the couch. He put his arm around Annabeth's shoulders and she curled into his side. It was nice, just sitting snuggled together, enjoying the quiet. Eventually, Annabeth said, "Sorry to be kicking you out of your bed for the weekend. Are you sure it's okay?"

"Totally fine," Percy reassured her. "I really don't mind. The couch is comfy. And I'm happy you're going to be here for Thanksgiving now."

"Me too." Annabeth sighed and settled more comfortably against him. One hand rested lightly on his stomach, while the other played with the hem of his t-shirt. "I think my dad was a little disappointed, although sometimes it's hard to tell with him. But I'm glad I get to be here with you guys." Her fingers slipped under his shirt, tracing patterns across his lower back. When they ghosted over his former Achilles spot, he felt a prickle of energy zig-zag up his spine. "I mean, I've heard you talk about your mom's blue mashed potatoes for years."

"They are pretty awesome," Percy said. "And we usually put up the Christmas tree over Thanksgiving weekend, so you can help with that, too, if you want."

"I'd love to," Annabeth said, and there was such a genuine excitement even in her tired voice that Percy had to smile. "Does your mom do Black Friday shopping?"

"Nah." Percy ran his fingertips up and down her arm. "She says she'll leave it to me to fight the monsters."

Annabeth laughed softly. And then the hand that had been resting on his stomach came up to his face. She met his eyes as her thumb followed his cheekbone, and he had a moment to appreciate just how beautiful her eyes were, stormy gray and intense, even when her expression was soft, like now. Then she tugged him closer and kissed him, long and slow and sweet. Percy's fingers tangled in her damp hair. She tasted fresh and minty, like toothpaste. And as Percy pulled her tighter against him, he thought that there was nowhere else in the world he'd rather be right now, than here on his couch in the dim lamplight, with Annabeth.

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*****Thanks for reading! Also, just a quick note, I saw the Lightning Thief ****musical on Broadway a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic! Seriously, it's so true to the book, there's lots of great moments referencing other parts of the series for fans to catch, and the characters really feel perfectly in character. Plus, the music is awesome and the cast is absolutely amazing. And it somehow manages to be both funny and heartfelt. So basically, if you have an opportunity to go see it before the run ends on January 5****th****, go!*****


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